How to Throw a Fall Wine and Pie Party!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older. #TurkeyDayTips #CollectiveBias

This Fall Wine and Pie Party is the perfect way to get together with friends and family, even in the busiest of seasons.

If you can conquer the difficult task of planning around schedules and getting everyone together why not make the rest of the night a breeze? Great wine, dessert and company is all you need for a festive fall night with friends.

Festive Fall Night with Friends

You know how it goes… carve out a day that works for you but when calling friends realize that everyone’s lives are just as packed as yours. It’s always hard to get everyone together but over the holidays? It’s a miracle! By the time I got my recent Fall Wine and Pie Party on the books I had put out so much effort into just scheduling it that I decided on an easy, less-is-more approach for the actual party.

If you’ve been following along with me for awhile you may have noticed a change in the way I do things. From my (zero effort!) Modern Dino Party to our Family Pizza Night you’ll see my parties are becoming less elaborate. Maybe it’s that I’m throwing more parties so ease is a necessity but lately I have been on the lookout for ways to make events easier without scrimping on fun.

Wine and Pie Party Decorations

Even simple, relaxed nights with friends should feel special. People are taking time out of their busy lives to accept the invitation, so put some effort into the details and turn a simple night into an event to remember.

Color Palette

Choosing a color palette is the easiest way to create a cohesive event, and when those colors are pulled from your already there home decor it’s a breeze!  Neutral black and white, mixed metals, and rich browns were already abundant in my house so all I had to do was choose a fun accent color (green) to pull it all together.

Table Setting

Using candlesticks, serving pieces and candles in mixed metal tones makes it look intentional when you don’t have enough of any one thing to make a complete set.

Place cards made out of chalkboard tape wrapped around delicate thistles and evergreen sprigs mimick the greenery and chalkboard accents on the dessert bar. If you choose to have an open guest list instead of requesting RSVPs write generic sayings like ‘bon appetite’, ‘cheers’ or ‘enjoy!’ on the place cards.

Food Stations

For a DIY Wine Station stock a bar cart with Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Wines, wine glasses and a corkscrew and guests can help themselves to beverages all night long.

A Pie Station designed to mimic classic diner dessert displays makes an impressive and mouthwatering display. Chalkboard tape wrapped appetizer picks label offerings to further entice guests to try them all. And extra labels and allow guests to label their dishes and get them out of their hands on arrival.

To create a full and appetizing looking dessert display place goodies at various heights. Cake stands and wood crates add dimension and interest. Get creative and use what you have!

Wine and Pie Party Food and Drink

On arrival friends were offered mini Apple Pie Wine Slushies. Having a little something to greet guests and set the tone for the party is a great way to get the party started and when it’s as easy as blending frozen fresh-pressed cider with crisp Woodbridge Chardonnay, it’s a no brainer.

Seriously, two ingredients and a few seconds in the blender is all it takes for these fun fall sips.

It does require a little forethought to pour apple cider into ice cube trays at least 24 hours in advance. Don’t try to rush things and use ice cubes and cider. The drink will be watered down and won’t be as luscious as frozen cider.

Apple Pie Wine Slushie

After guests enjoyed their Apple Pie Wine Slushies, they helped themselves to the self serve wine cart while they waited for dinner.

A tender and juicy all natural Butterball Whole Turkey makes a surprisingly easy way to feed a crowd on a budget. It may seem intimidating but roasting a turkey is actually very easy, especially with Butterball! Growing up, Butterball and Thanksgiving were synonymous and after I moved out it was the only brand I reached for during holidays. Butterball is the number one brand of turkey in America, and for good reason! Over the holidays, they have a Turkey Talk-Line with teams of experts just waiting to answer any of your thanksgiving cooking questions.

Turkey Talk-Line 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372)

Orange Sage Roasted Turkey

Luckily, this method for Orange Sage Roasted Turkey is so simple and time tested that no emergency phone calls or visits to the Turkey Day Tips Hub were needed, but these great resources are just a click or call away.

To make this delicious and elegant roast turkey, simply remove all the innards from both cavities of the turkey and pat dry with paper towels.  Rub skin with an orange half then place oranges into turkey cavity with garlic, onion and sage leaves. Then the secret is to gently run your hand between the turkey meat and the skin to open it up and place butter, whole sage leaves and thyme sprigs under the skin. THEN, melt more butter with garlic to slather over the entire bird. Cover with a generous helping of salt and pepper and place breast side DOWN in roasting pan. Roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Return the bird breast side up, reduce heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting until cooked through, up to 2 1/2 hours longer. Let rest and carve.

Roasted Delicata Squash

If you have extra garlic butter and herbs, roast up some in season produce with it! Delicata squash is an easy side when covered in leftover turkey seasoning and roasted in the already hot oven while the turkey rests.

Pie Display

Lastly, the pie! I just adore pie.  For as long as I can remember I have requested pumpkin pie for my birthday instead of cake and I went the same route on my wedding day as well. My grandma, who still makes me a pumpkin pie when I visit, made me hundreds of servings of homemade pie for my special day, and it was such an amazing and mouth watering sight.

For this party, I wanted that same luscious display of pie with all different options but didn’t want to call on grandma or spend every spare minute in the kitchen for a week so I made one of my quick pie desserts and picked up a few varieties of Marie Callender’s Dessert Pies at the grocery store.

Strawberry Pie Bites, Dutch Apple, Pumpkin and Chocolate Silk Pie give guests a variety of flavors to choose from and are easy to bake up.

Dutch Apple and Pumpkin simply take a quick bake in the oven and they are warm, delicious and full of homemade flavor and the Chocolate Silk doesn’t even need to be baked.

Even though Marie Callender’s Pies are easy to make and quick to clean up I still recommend baking a day in advance so you can dedicate your oven to the turkey and sides.. plus, pies slice so much better if you let them cool at least 3 hours before slicing.

Served with homemade whipped cream, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream and whatever else you can dream up, a pie bar turns into a diy interactive food station. Guests have a great time coming up with new combinations – pumpkin pie topped with a big ole dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel anyone?

Send the leftovers with guests

As the night winds down fill take out boxes with turkey, sides and pie to give to guests as they walk out the door.

With all the wine and visiting, guests probably will not eat as much they would have liked so it’s nice to send them with a little something for later.

With a strip of washi tape and a hand lettered note, a simple styro take out box gets a chic update.

Tips for Fall Wine and Pie Party Success:

• Delegate the work! Take on the dishes that you really love to make and accept help with the rest. Either from store bought goods or letting guests bring a dish.
• Start the party off right with a special little bite or drink to greet guests when they arrive.
• Keep it simple and know that guests will do more socializing and imbibing than actual eating. Have to go containers ready to send home with guests.
• Have a few good bottles of wine open and stock your bar with everything guests might need to mix up their own concoctions.
• Take it easy on yourself and realize that the main goal is spending time with your loved ones. Don’t strive for perfection, just strive for fun and relaxed.

I hope these tips inspire you to create time for the ones you love in your life. Cheers!

This post was created in partnership with Woodbridge + Marie Callender’s + Butterball. Thank you for supporting the brands that support me!

 

enjoy!

pin for later